CAKE
CAKE, a Mad Mobile company, provides a cloud-based restaurant point-of-sale platform combining payment processing, hardware, and software modules. It serves SMB and multi-location US restaurants via direct sales and a Sysco referral channel.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2010
- HeadquartersTampa, United States
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What CAKE does
CAKE is a cloud-based restaurant point-of-sale (POS) platform owned and operated by Mad Mobile, Inc., a privately held technology company headquartered in Tampa, FL. CAKE's product surface covers the full front-of-house and back-of-house stack: a core CAKE POS terminal, the CAKEpop handheld device, a Kitchen Display System, self-ordering kiosks, payment processing, online ordering, loyalty and marketing, gift cards, reporting and analytics, and the Guest Manager table-management subscription. The platform is built around commercial-grade hardware (fanless, splash-proof terminals; Elo touch hardware) and supports more than 100 third-party integrations including Olo, 7shifts, QuickBooks, LRS, Crunchtime, DoorDash, and Uber Eats.
The business model is a transaction-fee / payments-rebate model: CAKE does not charge monthly POS software fees and instead bundles hardware, software, support, updates, and lifetime equipment replacement into the merchant's payment processing rate. Ancillary revenue is generated through CAKE Capital / EZ Pay financing and the Guest Manager subscription (starting at $79/month). Distribution is primarily direct sales (phone, website demo requests, switching specialists handling migrations from Toast, Square, Lavu, and Heartland) complemented by a strategic referral channel through Sysco, white-glove installation through Best Buy, and a customer referral program. CAKE targets SMB single-location operators as well as multi-location enterprise groups across quick-service, full-service, bar/lounge, and concept-vertical segments such as Asian, Mexican, Indian, pizza, and cafe/bakery.
CAKE was originally developed as Sysco's restaurant POS platform and was acquired by Mad Mobile in December 2020. Since then Mad Mobile has layered on the Tablesafe pay-at-the-table acquisition (2021), an NCR Aloha API agreement (2022), an Elo Touch GTM partnership (2023), a hardware/UI/KDS relaunch on Elo (March 2024), and a Restaurant AI partnership with AWS (April 2024). The company has no disclosed venture funding and operates as a cash-flow-financed private business with 251–500 employees serving thousands of US restaurants.
CAKE firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- CAKE
- Legal name
- Mad Mobile, Inc.
- Website
- https://trycake.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2010
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- CAKE, a Mad Mobile company, provides a cloud-based restaurant point-of-sale platform combining payment processing, hardware, and software modules. It serves SMB and multi-location US restaurants via direct sales and a Sysco referral channel.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where CAKE is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Tampa
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
CAKE business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Payment Processing Fees: CAKE does not charge monthly POS fees. All costs (hardware, software, support) are built into the processing rate. Custom rates are structured around restaurant volume with no one-size-fits-all model. No hidden fees. Processing rate is locked to ensure predictable costs.
- Financing Services: CAKE Capital provides business financing for equipment, hiring, inventory, repairs, or expansion. Fixed fee structure with no interest. Repayments taken as percentage of sales. CAKE EZ Pay allows hardware acquisition without upfront cost.
- Guest Manager Subscription: Guest Manager table management solution available as add-on starting at $79/month. Includes floor map building, server section management, reservation management, wait-list management, and real-time notifications.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Core plan for single-location restaurants with essential POS features and self-install |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Growth plan with premium tools, white-glove installation, and advanced integrations |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Scale plan for multi-location brands requiring customization and enterprise support |
| Subscription | Monthly | Guest Manager add-on for table management and reservations |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels7 records
CAKE product offering
Product offeringCore offering
CAKE is a cloud-based restaurant point-of-sale platform that bundles proprietary hardware (POS terminals, CAKEpop handheld, kitchen display systems, self-service kiosks, thermal/impact/label printers) with software modules (payment processing, online ordering, loyalty, gift cards, reporting, guest management, integrations). The platform is sold to restaurants through a transaction-based pricing model in which hardware, software, support, and lifetime equipment replacement are built into payment processing rates with no monthly subscription fees.
Product overview
CAKE is a cloud-based restaurant point-of-sale (POS) platform built by Mad Mobile, offering a unified system with modular components. The core product is CAKE POS, supported by hardware devices including CAKEpop Handheld (tableside ordering), Kitchen Display System (KDS), and Self-Ordering Kiosk. Software modules include Online Ordering, Payment Processing, Loyalty & Marketing, Gift Cards, Reporting & Analytics, Guest Manager, and Integrations Hub. Financing options are available through CAKE Capital and EZ Pay. The platform is offered in three pricing tiers: Core (single-location essentials), Growth (premium tools with AI reporting), and Scale (enterprise multi-location). CAKE also provides POS Wraps for branding customization, along with Thermal/Impact/Label Printers as hardware accessories, and CAKE University for training resources.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- CAKE POS: All-in-one restaurant point-of-sale system with hardware, software, and support.
- CAKEpop
- CAKE Capital
- CAKE EZ Pay
- Guest Manager
Products and services
- CAKE POS
- CAKEpop Handheld POS
- Kitchen Display System (KDS)
- Self-Ordering Kiosk
- Payment Processing
- Online Ordering
- Loyalty & Marketing
- Gift Cards
- Reporting & Analytics
- Guest Manager
- CAKE Capital
- CAKE EZ Pay
- POS Wraps
- Thermal Printer
- Impact Printer
- Label Printer
- Integrations Hub
Quantifiable outcome
- Online orders average 30% more than call-ins
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use CAKE
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
CAKE technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration20 records
AI capability1 record
Feature6 records
CAKE partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered strategic and core.
- Amazon Web Services (AWS)strategicPartnership with AWS for Restaurant AI. CAKE announced utilizing AWS for AI capabilities in the restaurant POS platform, including AI reporting and management features.
- Elo TouchcorePartnership with Elo Touch as GTM (go-to-market) partner for restaurant hardware. CAKE launched on latest Elo hardware with new UI, KDS, and new mobile POS device (CAKEpop).
- NCRstrategicAgreement with NCR to utilize Aloha API to modernize restaurants with mobile ordering and payments.
- SyscocoreSysco partnered with CAKE/Mad Mobile to build and launch Sysco's mobile ordering solution for all Sysco restaurant customers and sales reps. CAKE positioned as 'Powered by Sysco' and backed by Sysco network. Exclusive Sysco partner integrations in CAKE plans. Dedicated Sysco support line (888.979.7225).
- OlocoreIntegration with Olo for seamless online ordering from placement to receipt. Olo handles online ordering giving brands strong digital ordering channel.
- 7shiftscoreScheduling and labor management integration. Seamless data sync with 7shifts platform to centralize operations and keep teams in sync.
- QuickBookscoreAccounting integration powered by Shogo. Run restaurant finances smoothly with trusted expense tracking and accounting tools.
- LRS (Location Recognition Systems)strategicTable tracker technology integration. Guides staff directly to guests and boosts food delivery speed in limited-service restaurants.
- Crunchtime KitchenstrategicKDS integration that brings order, clarity, and coordination to every corner of the kitchen. Manages all channels with confidence.
- EpsoncorePrinting hardware partner for all printing needs - thermal receipts, back-of-house impact and label printers. Reliable technology ensures fast and accurate operations.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
CAKE competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Lavu: Lavu is an iPad-based restaurant POS system with online ordering, KDS, and payments for SMB and mid-market restaurants. Named by CAKE as a primary switching competitor, it directly competes for SMB restaurant accounts.
- TouchBistro: TouchBistro is an iPad-based POS built specifically for restaurants with ordering, payments, reservations, and loyalty. It targets the same SMB-to-mid-market restaurant segment as CAKE with comparable pricing and feature set.
- Heartland Restaurant (Global Payments): Heartland Restaurant, part of Global Payments, provides restaurant POS, payments processing, and payroll/labor tools. CAKE explicitly lists Heartland as a primary competitor to switch from, and both compete for SMB-to-mid-market restaurants with bundled processing rates.
- Toast: Toast is the dominant US restaurant POS platform, offering cloud-based POS, payments, payroll, marketing, and supply chain software. CAKE explicitly targets restaurants switching from Toast, making it the most direct head-to-head competitor for SMB and enterprise restaurant accounts.
- SpotOn: SpotOn offers restaurant POS, payments, marketing, and loyalty software targeted at SMB and mid-market operators. Named by CAKE in its POS comparison pages, SpotOn competes on bundled software-plus-payments pricing with a focus on restaurants.
- Lightspeed Restaurant: Lightspeed Restaurant is a cloud-based POS for full-service and quick-service restaurants with payments, inventory, and eCommerce. It competes for multi-location and mid-market restaurants, overlapping with CAKE's Scale plan positioning.
- Clover (Fiserv): Clover is Fiserv's SMB POS platform used by many restaurants with bundled payments and an app marketplace. CAKE explicitly compares against Clover, and both target the SMB restaurant segment with hardware-plus-software subscription models.
- Square (Block): Square for Restaurants is a major SMB-focused POS with bundled payments, online ordering, and a developer ecosystem. CAKE names Square as a primary switching competitor and competes for the same small business restaurant segment with transparent, bundled pricing.
Broad incumbents
- Resy (American Express): Resy is a major restaurant reservations and guest management platform (part of Amex). It overlaps with CAKE's Guest Manager add-on for reservations and wait-list management but is part of a broader dining ecosystem play rather than a core POS competitor.
- NCR Aloha: NCR Aloha is a longstanding enterprise restaurant POS platform used by large chains. CAKE has a strategic Aloha API partnership, positioning Aloha as a broader incumbent whose installed base CAKE modernizes rather than replaces.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
CAKE social profiles
Digital presenceCAKE financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
CAKE leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
CAKE subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
CAKE funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
CAKE M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about CAKE
What does CAKE do?
CAKE is a cloud-based restaurant point-of-sale platform that bundles proprietary hardware (POS terminals, CAKEpop handheld, kitchen display systems, self-service kiosks, thermal/impact/label printers) with software modules (payment processing, online ordering, loyalty, gift cards, reporting, guest management, integrations). The platform is sold to restaurants through a transaction-based pricing model in which hardware, software, support, and lifetime equipment replacement are built into payment processing rates with no monthly subscription fees.
Is CAKE a public or private company?
CAKE is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was CAKE founded?
CAKE was founded in 2010. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is CAKE based?
CAKE is headquartered in Tampa, United States, in the North America region.
How does CAKE make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Payment Processing Fees are the primary driver. The others are financing Services and guest Manager Subscription.
Who are CAKE's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Lavu, TouchBistro, Heartland Restaurant (Global Payments), Toast, SpotOn, Lightspeed Restaurant, Clover (Fiserv) and Square (Block). Broad incumbents are Resy (American Express) and NCR Aloha.
Does CAKE have an API?
No public API is recorded for CAKE.